


Straight and Strapped

by Jay_bird (Fr333bird)



Category: Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coming Out, First Time, Happy Ending, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Pornstars, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-29
Updated: 2011-08-29
Packaged: 2017-10-23 05:35:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/246800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fr333bird/pseuds/Jay_bird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Merlin meet in the waiting room at 'Straight and Strapped' and Merlin recognises Arthur from Uni. It's all a bit awkward, and Arthur enjoys it a bit too much. But they decide to stay in touch and see if they can work things out.<br/>Lots of adult content, slightly dub-con and a bit kinky in places. Modern AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This was written for a prompt at the Merlin and Arthur Cheap Porno Fest on Livejournal
> 
> Warnings: contains explicit adult content, mild dub-con if you squint.  
>  **Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, I just like to make them do rude things  
> **

Gwaine insisted on accompanying Arthur to the door and wouldn't leave until he'd gone inside, _the fucker_. Not that Arthur was planning on chickening out – a bet was a bet after all. But he could have done without Gwaine's obvious amusement as they lurked outside the seedy looking row of buildings, waiting for Arthur's appointment.

The narrow door was sandwiched between an iffy looking 'massage parlour' and a very run down establishment that called itself a night club. There were only three doorbells, the bottom two were unlabelled and the top one had a small card with 'Straight and Strapped' scrawled on it.

"So how much did they say they'd pay you anyway?" Gwaine had a shit-eating grin on his face that made Arthur want to punch him.

"Apparently it depends on exactly what I'm prepared to do," Arthur replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and scuffing his feet on the pavement. "They start at thirty quid for a wank. The guy offered fifty if I was prepared to show my face on camera, but I said no fucking way on earth was _that_ going to happen."

Gwaine looked at his watch. "It's nearly four o'clock," he said with undisguised glee, "time for you to go and get your cock out on camera."

"Fuck you!" Arthur glared. "And you can sod off now. I don't want you lurking around outside waiting for me. That's just creepy."

"Okay, text me when you're _finished_ ," Gwaine emphasised the last word with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. Arthur flipped him the finger and turned to the door.

He took a deep breath and pressed a tentative finger to the top bell. A tinny voice on the intercom asked for his name.

"Gwaine," Arthur replied, grinning wickedly at Gwaine who was looking outraged. "What? I wasn't going to give them my real name was I? Don't worry I won't give them your surname."

The door was buzzed open. Arthur steeled himself and walked into the dim hallway beyond. As the door swung shut behind him, he paused for a moment to get his bearings in the gloom. He was in a narrow musty corridor that smelt of curry and stale cigarette smoke. There was a pile of unclaimed junk mail shoved behind the door and a ramshackle bicycle blocking the way to the stairs.

He squeezed past the bike and started to make his way up to the top floor. By the time he reached the landing his heart was pounding. He tried to kid himself that it was from the exertion of the climb but really he was shitting himself. Why the fuck hadn't he backed out? It was only a stupid bet; he could have just refused to do it.

The door on the second floor was ajar so he pushed it open and entered, walking straight into a hallway with a few doors leading off it. One of them was labelled WAITING ROOM. _How efficient_ , Arthur thought. He could almost kid himself that he was at the dentist, or somewhere normal like that.

He set his jaw in determination and opened the door to the waiting room. The room was fairly grotty and in dire need of a lick of paint. It had a few chairs around the edge and a coffee table with some porn mags strewn on it. Arthur sat on one of the chairs and tried to breathe normally.

He jumped as the door opened and a dark, lanky boy came in. He nodded awkwardly to Arthur and took a seat on the other side of the room. Arthur gritted his teeth and fought the waves of embarrassment that threatened to overwhelm him. He could do this. It was only wanking for money. It wasn't much worse than being a sperm donor really was it?

A voice cut through his inner monologue. "Weren't you in my Biochemistry class last year?"

Arthur's head snapped up and he locked eyes with the boy opposite him. Arthur studied him properly this time. He was very slight and gawky looking. His skin was almost vampirically pale, contrasting shockingly with dark messy hair. His eyes were blue and intense and his lips were full and dark pink, dominating his delicate face.

"Probably," Arthur replied. "I did do Biochem." _Fuck my life. He knows me? Could this be any more awkward?_

"I thought I recognised you," the dark boy grinned, looking inappropriately relaxed given the setting, Arthur thought. "I'm Merlin by the way."

"Arthur," Arthur replied.

"So is this your first time? You look a bit nervous."

Arthur just wished he'd stop bloody talking, he really didn't want to have a conversation about what they were here for, but didn't want to seem rude. "Yeah it is... so have you... uh... done this before then?"

"A couple of times," Merlin replied. "My flatmate dropped out of Uni. I haven't found a replacement yet and couldn't pay the rent on my own." He spread his slender hands and shrugged, "so here I am."

"Oh, right," Arthur nodded sympathetically. "I don't actually need the money, I just lost a bet. Don't ask." He rolled his eyes as Merlin chuckled. "So what do they actually make you do?"

"Well," the boy began. "They usually make us sit on a sofa together..."

"Together?" Arthur's eyes flew wide open in horror. "What the fuck do you mean, together? I thought I just had to wank on my own!"

"Erm... no, sorry," Merlin sounded apologetic. "I thought you realised, we'll be in the room together. Didn't you look at their website before you came?"

"No!" Arthur snapped. "Watching other blokes tossing off isn't really my thing. I'm going to fucking _kill_ Gwaine when I get my hands on him!"

"Honestly, it's not that bad," Merlin attempted to reassure him. "We just have to sit next to each other and wank. He will try and talk us into doing other stuff, but you don't have to if you don't want to..."

He was interrupted by the door being opened. A middle aged man with weird fluffy grey hair came in and nodded at them.

"Hi boys, I'm Gaius. I see you're getting acquainted," he grinned a little too enthusiastically for Arthur's liking. "That's great. I'm ready for you now." Arthur threw Merlin a panicked look. "Merlin, good to see you again... and Gwaine is it?" he looked at Arthur questioningly.

"Yep, that's me." Arthur nodded. Merlin shot him a knowing smirk when Gaius wasn't looking.

"Follow me then, lads."

Gaius led them out of the waiting room and through a different door. The room was sparsely furnished with a black leather sofa along one wall. There was a line of hooks on the wall and a shelf holding several boxes of Tesco Value tissues and a few bottles of lube. A camcorder was set up on a tripod, pointing ominously at the sofa. Arthur felt prickly and uncomfortable with nerves and a weird kind of anticipation.

"Okay," Gaius rubbed his hands together. "Get undressed and have a seat. You can hang your stuff up there," he gestured to the hooks.

Arthur reluctantly peeled off his t-shirt and toed off his trainers, as Merlin shrugged out of his clothes quickly. Arthur took his time with the buttons at his fly, not wanting to be the first to be naked. He had never felt so vulnerable. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to being naked in front of other blokes. Being so sporty meant he was used to stripping off in showers and locker rooms. But this was totally different.

"Come on Gwaine, get a shift on," Gaius said. "I've seen it all before you know."

Merlin rolled his eyes sympathetically as Arthur flushed. "He'll start telling you that time is money in a minute," he whispered with a grin.

Merlin finished stripping and walked over to the sofa. Arthur determinedly avoided looking at the other boy's arse, as he stepped out of his boxer briefs and hung them up with the rest of his clothes. Resisting the urge to cover his tackle with one hand – really, what would be the point in being coy now? He followed Merlin over to the leather sofa and sat as far away from him as possible.

"Right then," Gaius sounded business-like as he fiddled with the camcorder and adjusted its position on the tripod. "Gwaine, you don't want your face on camera, is that right?"

"Definitely not!" Arthur replied, "I don't want to be identifiable."

"Shame..." Gaius sounded disappointed. "The punters would love you. You and Merlin look great together too, a lovely contrast of looks..."

Arthur glanced sideways at Merlin, making sure to keep his eyes firmly up above waist level. He supposed he could see what Gaius meant. They were almost opposite types really. Merlin was all lean, pale lines and the dark hair on his belly contrasted starkly with his skin. Arthur was much broader and more muscular and his light brown body hair hardly showed against his golden torso.

"Okay, I'll start the camera in a moment," Gaius said. "Remember, the minimum is thirty quid for a wank and a cum shot, but we'll see how you go and take it from there. If you decide to play nicely then you might both be able to earn a lot more than that."

Arthur tried not to think too much about what Gaius might have in mind. Just a wank... he could manage that. Then he could leave.

"I need you to move closer together so I can get you both in the frame," Gaius instructed, Merlin moved over and Arthur shuffled towards him reluctantly, making sure that no part of them touched. "That's better. Right, the camera's rolling – time to get hard."

 _Fuck_. Arthur tentatively cupped himself and pressed down. There wasn't even a flicker of interest. He held his soft prick and squeezed it gently with his fingers, teasing the head. Still nothing, apparently his cock had serious performance anxiety.

"Try thinking about the last girl you fucked," Merlin muttered, "it might help."

Arthur turned and glared at him. If Merlin had noticed that Arthur was having trouble getting it up, then he must have been _looking_. The dark boy smiled encouragingly, his cheeks were a little flushed. Arthur could see the rhythmic movement of his arm and was unable to stop his eyes from sliding downwards. _Just out of interest_ , he told himself. _I want to see what I'm up against_.

Merlin's cock was already half hard and was quite impressive from what Arthur could see. It was surprisingly thick and the tip was dark red where his foreskin was pulled back. Arthur was transfixed as Merlin's slim fingers gripped it and slid up and down, the head emerging from his fist with each stroke. It got visibly harder as Arthur watched and he heard Merlin' breathing speed up. Arthur's own cock was finally taking an interest in the proceedings and had perked up a bit. Arthur experienced a moment of panic as he realised that he was staring at Merlin's prick and tore his eyes away, leaning his head back against the sofa and closing his eyes.

He tried to think about his last few conquests, attempting to pull up mental images of soft, round tits, wet cunts and long hair, but he was distracted by the rhythmic sound of Merlin's movements next to him. His eyes flew open again, as he felt Merlin's leg brush against his. He looked down and saw that Merlin was fisting his cock in earnest now and his legs had dropped open to allow his other hand to fondle his balls. Arthur felt his cock grow thicker in his hand and sweat started to gather uncomfortably between his skin and the sticky leather sofa.

"Looking good boys," Gaius's voice snapped Arthur back to reality for a moment. "Are you ready to take it up a notch? How about you give each other a hand?"

"No way!" Arthur reacted without thinking. "That's not what I agreed to. A quick wank, yes... but I'm not touching another bloke's cock."

"I'll make it worth your while," Gaius replied. "Double the money if you touch each other – sixty each."

"I could use the extra," Merlin's voice was hopeful.

Arthur felt trapped. His brain scrabbled for a compromise. "Fuck... okay," he addressed Merlin. "You can touch me, but I just can't... I'm sorry." He appealed to Gaius, "can he have the extra money if we do it that way?"

"Yeah, okay," the older man shrugged and moved back behind the camcorder.

Arthur bit his lip as Merlin leaned closer and pushed Arthur's hand away from his prick, wrapping his own hand round in its place. _Just pretend he's a girl, it's a girl with her hand on my cock_. Arthur closed his eyes and leaned his head back again, but his imagination failed him. He was painfully aware of the very male scent of Merlin next to him and his hand felt too boyish and rough. No girl had ever gripped quite like that, or flicked their thumb over the head of his prick – _oh hell... just like that!_ Arthur clenched his fists and felt his cheeks burn hot as his cock hardened and began to leak in Merlin's hand.

"If you'll let him suck you, you can both have a hundred quid," Gaius's voice was smooth and persuasive.

Arthur turned to look at Merlin as his hand continued to move over Arthur's cock. The dark boy's eyes were wide, the pupils dilated. His prominent cheekbones were splashed with colour.

"Please," he whispered as their eyes locked. "I can make it good for you, and I really need the money."

Arthur's throat was dry and tight. He couldn't manage to speak, so just nodded. His eyes dropped to Merlin's ridiculous porn star lips as he ran his tongue over them and made them glisten.

Merlin released his grip on Arthur's cock and positioned himself between Arthur's knees. They waited as Gaius moved the tripod to get a better angle for the shot. Merlin was rubbing small soothing, enticing circles on the sensitive skin of Arthur's thighs. Arthur's cock reared up – curved, hard and aching against his belly. He fought the urge to touch himself again, now turned on beyond belief and past caring exactly what it was about this whole fucked-up situation that was making him so painfully hard and desperate to get off.

"Okay, boys," Gaius gave them the go-ahead.

Arthur opened his eyes, the need to see Merlin's mouth on his cock overriding any residual feelings of shame or mortification. Merlin's dark blue eyes locked with his. He continued to look up through his lashes as he lowered his head and licked a wet line from Arthur's balls up to the tip of his cock. Arthur bit his lip and shuddered. Merlin carried on licking him, gazing at him with those eyes until Arthur gasped and clenched his fists, fighting the urge to grab Merlin by the hair and push the head of his cock between those tantalising lips.

Merlin seemed to sense Arthur's desperation. Moving one hand from Arthur's thigh he gripped the base of Arthur's cock tightly, pulling back for a moment and licking his lips again, making Arthur's prick twitch. He then wrapped his stupidly gorgeous lips around the head of Arthur's cock. Arthur grunted and bucked his hips upwards, but Merlin held him down with one firm hand and hummed as he circled his tongue around Arthur's prick, dipping in the slit to taste him.

Arthur had given up trying to imagine that Merlin was a girl. The graze of Merlin's stubble on his soft inner thigh just made him get impossibly harder. Arthur refused to think about the reasons why – he was beyond coherent thought, giving himself up to the sensations flooding through his body. Merlin started to suck now, moving his lips up and down, his tongue pressing along the base of Arthur's prick. He moved his other hand to fondle and gently tug on Arthur's balls and Arthur was lost.

He forgot that he was in a seedy backstreet flat, being filmed by a creepy man. He forgot that this was going to be put on the internet for other people to jack off to. He forgot that he was straight. All he could think about was Merlin, sucking on Arthur's cock like he was born to do it.

Arthur's hands found their way to Merlin's hair. He slid his fingers into the dark strands and pulled, trying to be gentle, but probably failing. Merlin just sucked harder. Arthur heard needy moaning and realised that the sounds were coming from his own lips – but he didn't care.

Merlin finally released the base of Arthur's cock and Arthur watched as he moved his hand down and started tugging at his own wet prick – urgently, desperately. The sight of Merlin touching himself sent a shocking jolt to the pit of Arthur's belly and he tightened his grip on Merlin's hair. As he watched, Merlin's movements became jerky and he tensed, his cock shooting white streaks of spunk onto the black leather of the sofa. He whimpered around Arthur's cock as he came and that was all it took. Arthur's hips twitched upwards and he tried to gasp out a warning, _oh... fuck... I'm going to... fuck!_ His vision went grainy and his whole body flooded with heat. He pulsed his release into Merlin's waiting mouth and Merlin's throat closed around him as he swallowed.

Reality came crashing back, like a swift kick to the bollocks, as Arthur came down from his orgasm. His body was slick with sweat and was uncomfortably sticky against the sofa. His hands were still tangled in Merlin's hair. He quickly pulled them away, as though he had been burned and looked down at Merlin, feeling his face flame as Merlin let Arthur's softening prick slide from between his lips. Merlin gave him a shy smile. He had a smear of Arthur's come on his lower lip and without thinking, Arthur gently wiped it off with his thumb, then blushed even harder.

"That was brilliant boys, you're total naturals. That will have the punters coming all over their keyboards." Gaius grinned as he passed them a box of tissues. "There you go, get yourselves cleaned up and dressed and I'll sort out some cash for you."

Arthur couldn't look Merlin in the eye as they rearranged themselves and began to dress. Thoughts were clamouring for attention in his head but he didn't know where to start. He caught a glimpse of Merlin's prick, heavy in its nest of dark curls and found himself wishing that he had touched it when he had the chance. _What the fuck?_ He shook his head, trying to clear the image of Merlin wanking from his mind. _I am totally going to kill Gwaine_.

Once they were fully clothed, Gaius gave them each their hundred quid.

"So Gwaine, call me if you want to do this again yeah?" Gaius sounded hopeful.

"Thanks... but I don't think so." Arthur pocketed the money and turned for the door. He was desperate to escape, drink himself into a stupor and then find Gwaine and murder him slowly and painfully.

Merlin followed him out and Arthur was achingly aware of his footsteps behind him as they descended the stairs.

Arthur pushed open the front door and paused on the street outside. He breathed in deeply, inhaling the fresh air, trying to eliminate the lingering smells of sex and stale fag smoke from his nostrils.

"Arthur," Merlin's voice was hesitant. "Do you want to maybe... go and get a beer or something? I could do with a drink... or would that be too weird?"

Arthur met his eyes, and felt something twist inside him.

"It might be weird," he replied thoughtfully. Merlin held his gaze. "But d'you know what? Today has been so fucking weird already that I think I'm immune to all future weirdness. And a drink is exactly what I need right now."

Merlin grinned at him, warm and genuine and Arthur found himself smiling back. Maybe he wouldn't need to kill Gwaine after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur fell into step beside Merlin, walking in silence. The day seemed to have taken on a dreamlike quality. Nothing felt real. Arthur just let himself go with the flow, not ready to think about what had happened back at that place. They found a pub a few streets away that looked fairly student friendly and ventured in.

Their first pints went down pretty quickly and the second round didn't last much longer. They chatted a little about Uni and their courses, finding they had a few mutual acquaintances. They mostly avoided each other's eyes.

By the third pint they started to relax a bit and Arthur was surprised to find how much he enjoyed Merlin's company. He had a quirky sense of humour and made Arthur laugh aloud several times. He was different to Arthur's usual friends, more interested in politics and literature than football. But Arthur liked it.

Merlin talked quickly and waved his hands around a lot. About half way down the third pint Arthur realised he was staring at Merlin's fingers. A vivid image of Merlin's pale hand gripping Arthur's cock filled his head and made blood rush to his face – and somewhere further south. He took a long swig of his pint and forced his eyes back to Merlin's face and his mind back to the conversation.

Having his eyes on Merlin's face didn't help matters much. He was strange looking, Arthur thought objectively, almost girlish, with delicate features and full lips. Arthur gazed at those lips and was assaulted with the memory of them stretched around his cock.  _Oh fuck... and I'm hard again_.

There was a silence and Arthur realised that Merlin was waiting for a response from him. He had no idea what Merlin had said – because he was too busy staring at his lips.

"I'm sorry... what did you say?" he blushed and dragged his eyes up to meet Merlin's.

Merlin quirked an eyebrow, "I was asking you whether you'd ever done anything like that with another bloke before."

Arthur's swallowed uncomfortably, not sure he was ready for this conversation even with the best part of three pints of lager inside him.

"Um... no," he shook his head, drawing patterns in the condensation on the side of his glass with a fingertip. "What about you?"

"Not for a long time," Merlin replied. "I messed around with a friend at school when we were really young, but not since then."

"Not even when you were filmed at that place before?" Arthur suddenly found he needed to know.

"Nope," Merlin's long fingers were systematically shredding a beer mat. "Gaius asked me to do more the other times, but..." he paused and their eyes met, "I didn't want to."

Arthur felt a strange sense of relief, but then was flooded with shock that he cared at all. That strange twisty feeling flickered in his belly again and his cheeks flushed hot. He drained his glass, needing an excuse to break the tension building between them.

"Do you want another? It's my round."

Merlin nodded, and Arthur escaped to the bar. He gazed at his familiar reflection in the mirror behind the rows of bottles. He was surprised to see that he didn't look any different, he felt as though he was a different person to the one that he had been a few hours ago.

They returned to safe, mundane subjects of conversation over their last drink, before calling it a night.

Outside in the darkness, Merlin's face was all angles and shadows in the sodium orange of the street lamps. They swapped mobile numbers – typing them into each other's phones before they went their separate ways. Arthur watched as Merlin walked away from him, hands in his pockets, bony shoulders hunched against the chill night air.

XOXOXOX

During the next week Arthur found his thoughts straying to Merlin frequently. He pushed the thoughts away, unwilling to dissect and analyse them. But he couldn't stop the visual images.

He caught a glimpse of Merlin around the University once or twice, but always in the distance. Arthur moved quickly in the opposite direction each time, irrationally fearful of any contact, not sure that he would know how to behave if they met.

He dreamed about Merlin's hands and mouth and woke with his cock hard and aching, but refused to touch himself to thoughts of Merlin. He tried to wank to some of his favourite porn clips but the intrusive thoughts of Merlin's lips and fingers on his cock made him slam his laptop closed in frustration and resort to a cold shower instead.

Eventually his body rebelled and on Friday morning Arthur woke face down, sticky and panting from a dream where he was back on that black sofa, with Merlin's cock in his hand and Merlin's hands tugging on his hair. He rolled onto his back and slammed his fists into the mattress.  _What the fuck is wrong with me?_

On Friday night he went out drinking with his usual crowd. Gwaine was on fine form, talking loudly to anyone who would listen about the bet and badgering Arthur about what it was like, and when he was going to see the proof that he'd done it.

Arthur fended him off with vague replies and drank way too much as they pub crawled down Whiteladies Road. He chased pints with shots, wanting to reach the stage of inebriation where he couldn't think clearly enough to give a shit about any of the confusing stuff going on in his head.

After the pub they went on to a club in the centre. Arthur was too pissed to dance. He leaned against the wall with yet another drink in his hand, watching the shifting colours of the lights and the seething mass of bodies on the dance floor. A few girls tried to chat him up, but he couldn't be arsed to make the effort with any of them. He was afraid of what would pop into his head if he let anyone come back to his bed. He was probably too drunk to get it up anyway.

The next morning Arthur was woken indecently early, by sunlight streaming into his room. He had passed out fully clothed on top of his covers and had totally failed to pull the curtains. He winced as he cranked his eyes open, the light made his head throb. He staggered out of bed for a piss, downed a pint of water, stripped down to his underwear and collapsed back into bed to doze again, with the curtains firmly closed.

When his phone bleeped at him an hour or so later he was feeling slightly less hideous. He reached for it and saw that he had a text from Merlin.

 _Do you want to go for a drink later?_

He thought for a minute, and then replied:

 _At the moment I'm at the stage where I'm swearing off alcohol forever, but I spose I might change my mind by this evening_

The answer came back quickly:

 _Hahaha! Like that is it? OK, text me later if you're feeling human._

Arthur lay back and closed his eyes again. Did he  _want_  to see Merlin? Seeing him might just fuel this ridiculous gay crush he seemed to have developed. And what did Merlin want from him? Meeting Merlin on his own for a drink felt too much like a date for Arthur to be comfortable with the idea, but he had no desire to invite Merlin out with his group of friends. That would require all sorts of awkward explanations.

He thought about how much he'd enjoyed Merlin's company last weekend, when they had had a chance to talk. Then he recalled how he had felt when he came down Merlin's throat, and how Merlin had looked when he pulled his mouth off Arthur's prick and smiled at him with Arthur's spunk on his lips. His cock twitched.  _Fuck it all_.

Arthur gave in and pushed his pants down around his thighs. He took his cock in his hand and stroked, hard and fast, allowing his head to scroll through the images he had been working so hard to suppress all week. Merlin's full lips stretched around the head of his cock, his dark hair soft between Arthur's fingers. Merlin reaching down and working his own cock until his come painted the black leather sofa. Arthur gasped and his hips bucked up, pushing into the tight grip of his fist, his spunk spilling hot onto his belly. He collapsed, trembling and panting, realising that – despite his reservations – he was going to meet Merlin later.

XOXOXOX

Arthur texted Merlin at six:

 _Back in the land of the living, still want to go for beers?_

He resisted the urge to pace anxiously, but his heart jumped when his phone pinged with an incoming message.

 _OK. Hare on the Hill at 8?_

Arthur replied before he could change his mind:

 _OK cu later_

Arthur placated his still rather delicate and hungover system with a large fry up before he went out. It seemed like a good idea to line his stomach before he started pouring any more beer into it.

He was feeling jittery, so decided to head out early and walk an indirect route to the pub. It wasn't one he'd visited often. He was relieved that it wasn't a particularly studenty pub, so he was unlikely to run into anyone that he knew.

The pub was on a corner, perched halfway up one of Bristol's most ridiculously steep hills. His thighs were burning by the time he reached the door. He checked his watch and saw that it was just after eight. He scanned the room as he entered, then checked the smaller back room, but didn't see Merlin. He went to the bar and ordered a pint. It was already busy and there were no seats left in the main bar so he moved through to the smaller room and found a seat in a dark corner.

A few minutes later Merlin entered, smiling nervously. He raised a hand in greeting. Arthur felt his heart beat faster and he clenched his fists nervously. Seeing Merlin face to face after a week of obsessing about him was like a punch in the gut. He forced himself to smile back as Merlin approached.

"Hi, do you need a refill yet?" Merlin asked, shrugging his hoodie off and draping it over the back of an empty seat.

"No, I'm good thanks." Arthur was determined to pace himself better tonight; his glass was still three quarters full.

"Okay, back in a minute then." Merlin turned and headed for the bar. Arthur found himself checking out Merlin's arse before he mentally slapped himself and reached for his pint again.

Merlin came back and slid into the chair adjacent to Arthur's, folding his lanky legs into the relatively tight space. The pub was crowded and noisy, a typical Saturday night. They chatted about random things for a while, raising their voices to compete with the hubbub around them. Arthur bought a round when their first pints were gone, then Merlin bought the next ones. The background noise in the pub got progressively louder as the evening went on.

By the end of the third pint they had to lean in close in order to hear each other properly. Arthur was becoming distracted by the heat of Merlin's breath on his cheek. Their proximity was making Arthur's chest feel tight and he was struggling to concentrate on the conversation. His nose was filled with clean-warm-Merlin smell. Every now and then Merlin's knee would brush his, or his arm would jolt against Arthur's and Arthur would have to force himself not to jerk away as though he had been burned. Despite all this, he was enjoying himself. He really liked Merlin, he realised. He was funny and genuine and real.

After four pints, Merlin said that he was hungry and suggested they went in search of a chip shop. They stumbled out of the heat and light of the pub into chill West Country drizzle. The pavements were slick and treacherous. They made their way cautiously down the steep slope of Nine Tree Hill, joking about needing a rope to get down it safely and wondering how anyone was ever brave enough to park on it. Merlin slipped and Arthur instinctively clutched his arm to stop him from falling.

"Thanks," Merlin laughed as he righted himself. His eyelashes were starred with rain and his cheekbones gleamed, shiny-wet where the light caught them. Arthur swallowed hard and snatched his hand away.

The chips were good. Hot and salty and just what they needed after an evening of drinking. It was still raining as they left the shop.

"Do you want to come back to mine for a bit?" Merlin asked. "It's only five minutes away and our chips will get soggy if we eat them in the rain. We can wrap them up and take them back. I have more beer too if you want?"

"Okay," Arthur agreed. "Sounds like a plan."

They shrugged off their wet jackets and kicked off their shoes as they entered Merlin's flat. Merlin showed Arthur into the living room, switched on the standard lamp and went in search of beer. Arthur looked around. The room was smallish and cluttered but cosy-looking; full of books and DVDs and dominated by a large squashy looking blue sofa. Arthur sat down and started to unwrap his chips.

Merlin returned with cans of lager and joined him on the sofa. They ate in companionable silence. Arthur finished first and sat back, putting his socked feet on the coffee table and leaning back into the cushions. He stretched and yawned, feeling pleasantly pissed and surprisingly chilled out for a moment. His earlier tension around Merlin had temporarily dissipated.

Merlin cleared away the chip wrappers and returned with more beer.

"I haven't finished this one yet," Arthur grinned jokingly. "Are you trying to get me drunk, Merlin?"

Merlin just looked at him and raised his eyebrows. Arthur stared back, cheeks flaming, realising how that had sounded. There was a loaded pause.

"So..." Merlin voice was deceptively casual. "Have you watched it yet?"

"Watched what?" Arthur's gaze fixed on the graceful bob of Merlin's throat as he took a swallow from his can.

"The video of us, it's online now. I thought you might have looked at it."

Arthur choked on a mouthful of beer and coughed, his eyes watering while his brain scrabbled frantically for an appropriate response.

"Um... no, I didn't think to look." He wiped beer off his chin with the back of his hand, and chanced another glance at Merlin. The dark blue eyes were still fixed on him.

"Do you want to watch it now?" Merlin's voice was light and casual, but his eyes were intense. Arthur felt dizzy and his trousers were suddenly uncomfortably tight.

"Okay," he croaked in a poor attempt at nonchalance.

Merlin stood and turned to grab his laptop from a shelf behind the sofa. Arthur took the opportunity to rearrange his erection while the blood pounded in his ears.  _What the fuck was he about to do?_

Merlin set up the laptop on the coffee table and found the website. Arthur averted his eyes from the frankly alarming advertisements on the side of the screen and watched as Merlin clicked until he found what he was looking for. He angled the screen and sat back close to Arthur now, so they could both get a good view as the video loaded.

Arthur felt sick with anticipation. He could feel Merlin pressed up against him, the warmth of his bare arm below the sleeve of his t-shirt made Arthur shiver. Neither of them spoke as the video started.

Arthur's first feeling was one of overwhelming relief, when he realised that the camera angle definitely meant that he wasn't easily recognisable. Most of his body could be seen, but the shot was cut off around the level of their shoulders, so no part of his face was visible.

He winced with embarrassment as his hand teased his soft prick on the screen. He watched Merlin's body twist and lean in towards his. The muttered words were muffled, but Arthur remembered Merlin telling him to think about the last girl he fucked. He suppressed a snort of irony.  _That hadn't really worked out too well had it?_

He turned his attention to Merlin's hand working his cock on the laptop screen. He remembered how he had forced his eyes away, but longed to look back. Now he indulged that desire and felt his own cock throb hard against the seam of his jeans as he watched the slow rhythmic pull of Merlin's hand on his hardening prick.

He looked back at his on-screen self and saw, with a weird sense of pride, that he was now properly erect. It was strange watching himself. His eyes were drawn back to Merlin's prick as he pumped it slowly in the slightly grainy image on the laptop.

Beside him on the blue sofa Merlin shifted, his legs dropped open slightly and Arthur was suddenly vividly aware that Merlin was right there, beside him. He glanced down at real-life-Merlin's crotch and could see immediately that he was as affected by this as Arthur was. Arthur's fingers tingled with an urge to reach for him, but he snapped his eyes back to the screen as he heard Gaius's voice asking them to touch each other.

He watched, momentarily forgetting to breathe, as Merlin's hand wrapped around  _his_  cock on the screen and started to stroke him. He felt his erection twitch in his jeans and suppressed a moan. Their breathing was audible on the film now and the sound of it fuelled Arthur's desire. He clenched his fists, desperately trying to resist the temptation to touch himself. Merlin shifted beside him again and Arthur heard his breathing quicken.

On the screen, Merlin moved to kneel between Arthur's legs and the camera angle changed, focusing on Merlin's face as he lowered his mouth towards Arthur's cock. Arthur bit his lip as he watched Merlin lick him from balls to tip and remembered in vivid detail exactly how it had felt as Merlin's tongue lapped the length of his prick. He watched as Merlin put his lips around the tip of his cock and held his hips down as he bucked up and grunted audibly. Arthur dug his fingernails into the palm of his hand and feared he was going to come in his pants just from watching them together.

He saw movement in the corner of his eye and realised that Merlin was pressing down on his crotch, rubbing himself through his jeans. He looked up and Merlin met his eyes. His pupils were dilated and his cheeks flushed with colour.

"I'm sorry... I can't help it..." Merlin gasped.

"Thank fuck for that," Arthur moaned in response, palming his own cock in blessed relief. He was too far gone to be embarrassed. Merlin seemed to have a knack for stripping him of all his inhibitions.

Arthur's eyes flicked back to the screen and he watched Merlin tug on his balls and saw his hands tangle in the dark hair. He rubbed his prick harder through the thick denim. Then he heard the sound of a zip, drawing his attention back to Merlin beside him. He watched as Merlin pushed his jeans aside and pulled his thick cock free. Forgetting the video, Arthur focused all his attention on Merlin's hand moving on his cock, teasing the head with his thumb as he stroked himself.

"I want to touch you," Arthur's voice was hoarse. "I've been thinking about it all week and wishing I'd touched you..."

"Please..." Merlin whimpered, taking Arthur's hand and pulling it towards him.

Arthur was dimly aware of his on-screen self gasping out his orgasm as his fingers wrapped around the hot, silky skin of Merlin's cock. Merlin moaned and clutched Arthur's wrist, his fingernails sharp and urgent. Their eyes met and Merlin reached across and twined his free hand into Arthur's hair, tugging gently and leaning in until their foreheads were pressed together. Arthur could feel the hot whisper of Merlin's breath on his lips and his head tilted as if of its own accord. Their lips met in a deep, searching kiss, tongues exploring and tasting. Arthur let his hand slide over Merlin's cock as they kissed, until Merlin moaned into his mouth and pulled on his hair.

Acting on instinct, refusing to think, Arthur released his grip on Merlin's prick, pushed him down onto the sofa and straddled him, their lips still locked together. He ground his erection against Merlin's and felt a thrill go through him as Merlin's fingers reached for his fly and released his aching cock, shoving his jeans and pants roughly below his hips. Merlin wriggled, pushing his own clothes out of the way too.

Arthur felt the hot hardness of Merlin's cock slide against his and shuddered with want. He pushed Merlin's t-shirt up, needing to feel bare skin under his fingers and felt Merlin's hands grasp his hips and pull him closer. Their cocks were wet and leaking and the sensation was glorious. Arthur tore his lips away from Merlin's and licked a path down to Merlin's neck, sucking and nipping as his hips bucked faster. He could feel his orgasm building and was powerless to hold it off. Merlin's hands slipped round and clutched his arse, his fingers digging in hard and muttered incoherently.  _Fucking hell, Arthur... fuck... ohhhh!_

The pain-pleasure of Merlin's grip and the desperation in his voice tipped Arthur over the edge and he came in hot, wet spurts between them with a choked gasp. He felt Merlin tense and shudder beneath him and realised that he was coming too. He reached for Merlin's cock, sticky with their spunk, and teased out the last drops of Merlin's release as he moaned and twitched helplessly.

When Merlin's breathing started to steady, Arthur dipped his head and rested his face in the crook of Merlin's neck. He breathed in the warm sweet scent of Merlin's sweat, as skinny arms wrapped around him and held him close.

They unstuck themselves eventually, blushing and grinning. Merlin fetched some loo roll and wiped himself clean, then offered it to Arthur. They rearranged their clothes and fell into an awkward silence.

"Um... I should probably get home," Arthur said, looking sidelong at Merlin.

"Yeah, okay. But you're welcome to stay if you want though? I mean... you can sleep on the sofa... I didn't mean..." Merlin flushed and started babbling.

"It's okay," Arthur looked at Merlin, deciding to just be honest. "I'm not trying to do a runner or anything," he paused and frowned, trying to find the right words. "But this  _thing_  between us is all a bit of a head fuck and I don't think staying the night will help with that."

"I guess," Merlin sounded a bit disappointed, then his lips quirked. "But you admit we have  _a thing?_ "

Arthur chuckled. "I'd say so, wouldn't you?" Merlin grinned back at him. "I would like to see you again, Merlin. I just want to take things slowly – you know?"

"That's fine with me," Merlin said. "You're not the only one who thought he was totally straight until last weekend don't forget."

"So, we'll be in touch, yeah?" Arthur stood and Merlin got up to see him out. On the doorstep Arthur leaned in and brushed Merlin's lips with his, thinking how strange it was to kiss someone who was almost as tall as him.

"Bye then," Merlin called as Arthur stepped away into the darkness.

"I'll see you soon," Arthur replied.


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur slept the exhausted type of sleep which only two consecutive nights of drinking and a satisfying orgasm can bring. Thankfully he remembered to pull his curtains this time, and enjoyed a leisurely lie-in the next day. When he finally woke properly, he stretched luxuriously and allowed his thoughts to stray to the events of the previous night.

Thinking about what he and Merlin had done the night before, made him aroused and freaked out in equal measures. He decided to focus on the arousal first – that was comparatively easy to deal with. He didn't even attempt to think about anything other than Merlin as he worked himself hastily to orgasm, he knew it would be pointless.

As soon as he had finished, the feelings of unease and confusion returned. He dragged himself out of bed and decided to go for a run. Running always calmed him when he was stressed out. The steady beat of his feet and the burn of his muscles soothed him and allowed his thoughts to flow.

It was a fine morning, dry and bright but not too hot. As Arthur ran he let his thoughts drift to the crazy events of the past week. It still felt unreal, as though he was living someone else's life, a life that was far more interesting, scary and complex than his own.

Arthur had never been interested in another bloke before. It had never occurred to him that he might enjoy touching another man like that. Arthur had been to an all-boys boarding school, where teenage sexual experimentation between pupils was commonplace. But Arthur had never indulged. He had had it drummed into him by his father from an early age that homosexuality was wrong and unnatural, so he steered clear and stuck to wanking until he was old enough to be involved with girls. Arthur didn't consider himself to be homophobic, he didn't agree with his father's old-fashioned attitudes. He had just never expected to be attracted to someone of the same sex.

From age sixteen or so, Arthur had had no shortage of girlfriends. None of them were serious relationships, but he could always find a girl who was willing to oblige with a hand job or a blow job and sometimes with sex. He had had no problems getting off, and had always been intrigued by their bodies and how different they were to his own.

But this thing with Merlin was a revelation to him. He looked back on all the sexual experiences he'd had with girls and women. He couldn't think of one that had even come close to the raw, almost-painful intensity that he had felt with Merlin. Just the thought of Merlin's hands on him and the touch of his lips sent a jolt of heat to Arthur's groin. He stepped up his pace, running faster until his legs ached and his chest burned.

Not wanting to run with a full blown erection, Arthur shifted his thoughts to the mundane. He thought about stuff that he had on over the next week and assignments that he needed to complete. When he arrived back at his student house the endorphins in his system left him feeling calmer than before he went out and pleasantly elated. He stretched out his muscles, leaning on the wall outside, cooling down for a while before he headed indoors.

He heard sounds in the kitchen and popped his head round to greet his housemates, Lance and Gwen. They'd been part of Arthur's group of friends since first year and Lance and Gwen had been a couple for nearly as long. They also shared the house with Leon, but there was no sign of him yet. This wasn't surprising, he'd always been known for his epic weekend lie-ins.

"Alright mate," said Lance. "You were late last night. Did you have a good one?"

"Um... yeah, it was OK," Arthur replied casually, not meeting Lance's eyes, "Saturday night, pub, beer... nothing special."

"Who were you out with anyway?" Lance asked, "I thought you'd be with Gwaine but we ran into him at the union and he hadn't seen you."

"Oh, just some bloke I know from Biochem," Arthur shifted uncomfortably and changed the subject. "I'd better go and shower... I must stink, don't want to put your off your breakfast."

"Well I didn't like to mention it..." Gwen grinned.

Arthur hurriedly made his escape.

XOXOXOX

Once he was dried and dressed and had some breakfast inside him, Arthur decided that he ought to text Merlin. He was still sure that he'd done the right thing by leaving last night, staying over would have put him too far out of his comfort zone. He felt a bit bad though, hoping that Merlin understood his reasons.

He picked up his phone and typed.

 _Hey, how r u today? Sorry for running out on you last night_

Arthur busied himself sorting out books and files, trying to kid himself that he wasn't waiting anxiously for a reply. He decided to head out to the library and get some work done, he always found it easier to focus on work there, where there were less distractions. About ten minutes later his phone finally buzzed. A smile broke out over Arthur's face when he saw it was from Merlin.

 _No problem, I get it. Like I said, weird for me too_

Arthur took a deep breath and decided to be brave. _So do you want to meet again soonish?_

The answer from Merlin came back immediately. _I guess I can fit you into my busy schedule. Actually seriously, I'm quite busy this week but how about Tues or Weds evening?_

 _I have 5-a-side on Tues, Weds is good. Can I come to yours? I'm free from 5pm_

 _Sounds fine, cu then x_

Arthur's eyebrows shot up in surprise, he texted back with a grin: _Merlin did you just kiss me by text or was that a typo?_

 _I may have done *shifty eyes* u have a problem with that?_

Arthur typed and then blushed, but pressed send anyway. _No xx_

XOXOXOX

The interim days passed quickly. Arthur didn't have any contact with Merlin. He thought about texting him several times but didn't know what to say, so chickened out. Merlin occupied his thoughts an alarming amount of the time, but Arthur found he was starting to get used to this.

At lunchtime on Wednesday Arthur was sitting in the cafeteria. He pulled out his phone, practical details now giving him an excuse to text Merlin.

 _Still OK for me to come later?_

The reply came back immediately. _I was rather hoping we can both do that *grin*_

Arthur spluttered and ended up with coffee in his sinuses.

 _Thanks for that, you made me snort my coffee_ , he typed back after he'd wiped his eyes and the burning sensation had passed.

 _LOL, I'd have liked to have seen that,_ came the reply. Then a few seconds later: _and yes, come over later, in case you didn't get that before_

 _OK I'll be round by sixish_ , Arthur replied, then did his best to blow the remaining coffee out of his nose.

XOXOXOX

Arthur paused nervously on Merlin's doorstep and took a deep breath before he pushed the bell. He was clutching a six pack of beer under his arm, having felt that he ought to bring something. He had flailed about in the off license for a bit, considering wine, but thought it might look too romantic... or something.

Arthur heard Merlin's feet clattering down the stairs inside and was greeted by a wide smile as the door opened. Arthur grinned back, stupidly pleased to see Merlin. He wanted to touch him, but wasn't sure what Merlin was expecting and they were still on the doorstep, so he fought back the urge.

"Come in," Merlin stood aside, allowing Arthur to squeeze past, his shoulder brushing Merlin's chest. Arthur led the way up the stairs with Merlin following behind.

The door to Merlin's flat was ajar so Arthur went straight in, then turned to look at Merlin as he entered, leaning back against the door to close it. The air between them seemed to thicken and Arthur was aware of each inhale of breath and the repetitive movement of his ribs as he breathed. Merlin's eyes were dark in the dim light of the hallway and Arthur could see hunger in them. His eyes dropped to Merlin's lips and he felt his prick begin to fill.

Arthur stepped forwards, closing the gap between them as Merlin simultaneously reached for him, pulling their hips flush as their lips pressed together. Arthur felt his heart rate spike immediately and he parted his lips, feeling Merlin do the same and their tongues met in a hot slide of delicious sensation. One of Arthur's hands curled behind Merlin's neck, tangling in his hair at the nape of his neck. The other slid under his t-shirt at the back, needing to feel bare skin under his fingers. Merlin shifted against him and they hummed into each other's mouths as they felt the hard press of their cocks through thick denim.

The kiss turned hungry and demanding, Arthur sucked on Merlin's lower lip and moved his mouth lower, brushing over the slight stubble on the angular jaw. Merlin's fingers dug into Arthur's hip and pushed up under his clothes, scratching through the hair on Arthur's chest and belly. Arthur gasped and squirmed, half ticklish, half unbearably aroused.

Merlin pulled back slightly and grinned, his eyes gleaming. Arthur just stared, his chest rising and falling, his breathing harsh in the hollow silence of the small space.

Suddenly Merlin's hands were moving again. Pushing Arthur's jacket off his shoulders and pulling his t-shirt up and off impatiently. Arthur joined in, swept along by Merlin's urgency, until they were bare from the waist up. They kissed again, hands moving, discovering the shape and texture of each other's bodies as they ground their erections together.

Merlin reached for Arthur's jeans and cupped him through the fabric, smiling against his mouth as he curled his fingers around the hardness and stroked. Arthur gasped and bucked against him in encouragement and Merlin dropped to his knees, fumbling with the buttons at the fly. Each brush of his fingers made heat coil in Arthur's belly, knowing what was coming, desperate for Merlin's mouth on him. He leaned heavily on the door in front of him for balance. His legs were already feeling shaky.

Merlin pushed Arthur's trousers and pants down around his thighs, releasing his cock carefully. It bobbed up, hard and aching against Merlin's face. He rubbed against it like a cat and Arthur bit his lip and groaned as he saw shiny-wetness streak across Merlin's cheekbone like a snail-trail, reflecting the dim light coming from down the hall.

When Merlin finally closed his lips around the head of Arthur's cock, Arthur feared he would come instantly. But Merlin seemed to sense how close he was and kept him on the edge, with light licks and gentle pressure, until Arthur was keening incoherently and pushing forward into the tight grip of Merlin's hands on his hips.

Finally Merlin relented and slid his hands round to clutch Arthur's arse as he took him deep. He sucked once, twice and Arthur muttered a strangled cry of " _oh Merlin... fuck... yes... I'm going to..."_ and felt the hot, unbearable tension finally ignite as he released into Merlin's mouth. Merlin pulled off him and swallowed, then replaced his mouth with his hand, teasing out the last drops and licking them away from the head of Arthur's prick with his tongue.

"Fuck... Merlin, that was..." Arthur gasped, unable to form a coherent sentence. He pulled Merlin up and kissed him, noticing that his own bitter taste on Merlin's tongue. He was surprised by how much he enjoyed it.

He could feel Merlin's prick, hard inside his jeans. He undid the button and zip quickly, pushing the clothes down until he could get his hand around Merlin and stroke him. He wondered if he should be brave and try to reciprocate the blow job, but chickened out, worried that he'd be crap at it. Merlin seemed to be appreciating his hand anyway, if the little gaspy noises he was making as he thrust into the tight clench of Arthur's fist were anything to go by. Arthur slid his lips over Merlin's again, parting them with his tongue and ran his thumb over the wet tip of Merlin's cock with each stroke. As Merlin arched and came, hot and sticky over both of them, he clutched Arthur's hips so tight, that Arthur thought he would find bruises there tomorrow – but he didn't really care.

XOXOXOX

Once the curry that they had ordered arrived, Arthur realised how hungry he was. They ate, mostly in silence. The food was spicy and good.

After they'd eaten they ended up sprawled on the sofa together. Somehow, that felt more intimate to Arthur than any previous touch between them. Until now all their physical contact had been entirely of a sexual nature, but this casual affection was new. Arthur was sitting back with his feet up, propped against the squishy arm of the sofa. Merlin had pushed his legs apart and squeezed between them, leaning back on Arthur's chest. Arthur ended up with one arm wrapped around Merlin's flat belly, the sharp hip bones digging into Arthur's arm, even through his clothes. Arthur's other hand was absently fiddling with the dark tufts of Merlin's hair, while he enjoyed the warm comfortable weight of Merlin against his body.

"I forgot to tell you," Merlin said. "My flatmate issues are sorted."

"Oh, really?" Arthur replied questioningly.

"An old mate of mine from home is moving to Bristol and he's going to take the extra room. He's called Will. I've known him since Primary School."

"That's good," Arthur nodded, then suddenly realised something. "Wait, that's really good! So you won't need to go back to Gaius again?"

"Nope," Merlin shook his head.

Arthur felt weak with relief. "Thanks fuck for that!" Stupidly, it hadn't occurred to him before that Merlin might need to go back to that placed to earn more money. The thought of Merlin touching, or being touched by anyone other than himself made him feel rather nauseous. The arm around Merlin's waist clenched instinctively and pulled him tighter.

Merlin chuckled and slid his palm over the back of Arthur's hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing gently.

"So..." he murmured, tracing the pulse on Arthur's wrist with his thumb. "How do you feel about staying over tonight? Are you ready for that yet?"

Arthur felt a rush of warmth in his chest. "Yeah," he nuzzled Merlin's neck and smelled his skin. "I'd like that."

"In that case, at the risk of sounding too eager... can we go to bed now?"

Arthur chuckled, "not unless you shift your bony arse off me."

"Oi," huffed Merlin, unfolding himself and pulling Arthur up. "My arse is not bony. We can't all be built like a prop forward you know."

XOXOXOX

Arthur felt suddenly shy as he stood beside the bed, still fully-dressed, mouth minty from a quick scrub with Merlin's toothbrush. Merlin was sitting on top of the duvet wearing boxer briefs and a t-shirt. His smile was brilliant and once again, Arthur felt that warm twisty feeling in his belly that he was starting to associate with Merlin.

Merlin slid off the bed and stood beside him. They undressed each other in silence, punctuated by kisses and soft touches. They explored each other's bodies with their eyes and hands. This wasn't the first time they had seen each other naked, of course. But the other time, Arthur had been trying very hard _not_ to look and appreciate the lean, graceful lines of Merlin's body and the curve of his buttocks. This time he made up for it, staring at Merlin with hungry eyes until Merlin flushed and squirmed as his cock grew heavy and thick under Arthur's gaze.

"You're freaking me out a bit with all the scrutiny," he chided.

"Sorry... I... you're just..." Arthur shook his head and let his voice trail off, not able to find the words.

Merlin's lips curved in a soft smile as he looked Arthur up and down. "So are you."

Merlin moved, pushing the covers aside and lay back on the sheets, pulling Arthur beside him. They kissed slowly, but with a depth and intensity that made Arthur burn and ache. He rolled Merlin onto his back and kissed him hard, Merlin's thighs fell open and Arthur pushed them wide, lying between them so that their cocks slid together tantalisingly. Merlin arched up, trying to grind against Arthur, but Arthur had other plans.

He licked and sucked a hot trail down Merlin's neck and across his collarbones. One of his thumbs grazed Merlin's nipple, making him whimper, so Arthur moved lower to investigate. He circled the other one with his tongue, eliciting a gasp, as Merlin pushed his cock hard against Arthur's belly and dug his fingers into his shoulders. Arthur smiled against Merlin's skin, making a mental note to pay Merlin's nipples more attention another time, but for now he had a different goal in mind.

Plucking up his courage he moved lower still, finding the soft trail of black hair that led downwards from Merlin's navel like an arrow. He followed the path with his lips and then paused, studying Merlin's cock. He had never thought that he would find another man's penis beautiful, but Merlin's was. The skin on the shaft was so pale that it was translucent and the blue veins stood out, dark beneath the thin skin. His foreskin was partly retracted and the dark red tip was wet and shiny and perfect. Arthur licked his lips and Merlin's cock twitched, as if in response.

"You don't have to, you know," Merlin whispered hoarsely. His fingers clutched Arthur's shoulders reflexively, telling another story.

Arthur looked up, realising that Merlin had misinterpreted his cock-struck staring for anxious hesitation. Arthur smiled, he wasn't nervous anymore. He just wanted to make Merlin feel as good as he had felt earlier. How hard could it be?

"I know I don't have to, you idiot. I want to."

Merlin grinned back at him. "Well, thank fuck for that. In your own time then," he looked expectant.

Arthur turned his attention back to Merlin's prick, lowering his head and licking experimentally. The skin felt warm and smooth under his tongue. He licked and kissed messily up the shaft, as Merlin made appreciative humming noises. When Arthur reached the head, he took Merlin's cock in his hand and lifted it away from his abdomen, so he could circle the head lightly with his tongue. He tasted salty-sweetness and was relieved to find that he liked it. Merlin whimpered as Arthur's tongue curled around him and his hips twitched slightly.

"God, Arthur!" his voice was raw and his hands found their way to Arthur's head, sliding into the blond strands and pulling slightly.

Arthur could feel his own cock sliding and leaking against the bed and bucked his hips, enjoying the friction, as he took the head of Merlin's prick into his mouth and sucked. Merlin gasped and spread his legs wider, moving his hands away from Arthur's hair to clench and twist his fingers in the sheets. Arthur slid his hands up Merlin's thighs to tease the crease of his groin with his thumbs. Merlin moved his hips in tiny rhythmic circles, pushing up slightly into Arthur's mouth. Arthur let his thumbs slide inwards and he stroked the skin behind Merlin's balls as he sucked harder, taking his cock deeper. He glanced up, Merlin looked utterly wrecked. His dark head was thrown back against the pillows, his face and chest flushed pink and glistening with sweat. He was panting and moaning incoherently, it was beautiful.

Arthur's thumbs crept lower and he worked his mouth up and down Merlin's cock, doing his best to cover his teeth. As one of Arthur's thumbs grazed Merlin's arsehole, Merlin jerked as if he'd been electrocuted and gasped out a strangled warning.

"Fuck... Arthur... I'm going to come!"

Arthur appreciated the heads-up but only sucked harder, determined. Merlin writhed and bucked, filling Arthur's mouth with surprisingly bitter saltiness, but Arthur held it all in his mouth and carried on sucking. Once Merlin's movements slowed, Arthur finally allowed Merlin's softening cock to slip from between his lips. He swallowed quickly and wiped his mouth. He looked up at Merlin, who was stretched wantonly across the bed with a dazed expression on his face, and Arthur chuckled.

"So that was okay then, I take it?"

"There's no need to look so unbearably smug. It's hardly rocket science," Merlin smirked but his flushed cheeks and breathless tone gave him away. "Come here."

He reached for Arthur and pulled him up for a kiss, taking Arthur's cock in his hand. Merlin stroked Arthur quickly and efficiently as their tongues tangled together and Arthur moaned into Merlin's mouth as he spilled, hot and sticky between them.

Arthur collapsed on top of Merlin, boneless with exhaustion and satisfied desire. At some unspecified point later he was dimly aware of Merlin wriggling out from under him, to pull up the covers and curl back in beside him, wrapping an arm across his chest. Arthur smiled to himself and pulled Merlin closer, drifting back into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur drifted into wakefulness gradually. At first he just registered warmth, then slowly realised that the heat was coming from a naked body pressed close to his side and an arm flung over his chest. He became aware of the brush of Merlin's gentle breathing on his neck and the warm, comforting scent of the dark hair that tickled his nose.

Something fluttered in his belly and he shifted his position. He rolled Merlin over and spooned behind him, pressing his cheek against the warm skin of Merlin's back. Arthur's morning erection slid neatly against Merlin's arse. Arthur resisted the urge to move his hips; he just pulled Merlin a little closer. But Merlin murmured sleepily and pushed back, wriggling encouragingly.

Arthur slid his hand down Merlin's belly and chuckled as he found that Merlin was rock hard. Part of him was clearly wide awake. He took Merlin's cock in his hand and stroked him with gentle, lazy strokes, moving his hips in time with his hand so that his prick slid between Merlin's buttocks. The heat built between them slowly as they moved together in a languid rhythm. Their breathing quickened and their bodies became slick with sweat. Merlin came first with a shuddering gasp and Arthur followed soon after.

Merlin twisted round and they kissed, heedless of morning breath and the sticky mess they were now lying in. Merlin's stubble made Arthur's lips tingle and he felt himself growing hard again already.

Merlin palmed Arthur's cock regretfully. "There's no time for more, unless we're taking the day off."

"Shame," Arthur sighed.

They took it in turns to shower quickly. Arthur helped himself to some toast while Merlin was dressing.

Arthur stood in the doorway of Merlin's bedroom.

"I'm going to have to head out in a sec," he said. "I need to go home and get my books before I go to lectures."

"Okay," Merlin looked up. "Do you want to meet for coffee later? Our lectures are usually in the same building."

Arthur felt suddenly awkward, not knowing how to answer. "Um... I'm not sure... I..." He paused and his mind rattled around, trying to find a way of putting his thoughts into words.

Merlin looked at him steadily for a moment while Arthur floundered, then Merlin appeared to take pity on him. "It's okay Arthur, I get it. Not ready for that yet?" He raised his eyebrows with a small smile.

"No, I'm sorry." Arthur muttered gratefully. He moved towards Merlin, wanting to be closer to him. He looked into his eyes, needing Merlin to understand.

"I just... I really like you," he said honestly, "and I want to spend time with you. I'm just not ready to deal with telling anyone else about us for now. Is that okay with you?"

"I can wait," Merlin nodded. "This is a big deal for you isn't it? I mean, telling people you're in a gay relationship?"

Arthur stiffened just from hearing the word. _Gay_. He had avoided using it so far, even in his head. Denial was a wonderful thing.

"Yeah," he dropped his eyes. "My father would be _appalled_. My friends... I don't know," he shrugged. "Isn't it the same for you though?"

"Not really," Merlin's lips quirked. "My mum's bisexual so she can hardly object, and my friends... well, they're not the sort to have a problem with it. They might be surprised because I've never had a boyfriend before, but they won't care as long as I'm happy."

Arthur's eyebrows flew up, his brain sticking on the word that Merlin had just used, "boyfriend?" he questioned.

Merlin rolled his eyes, "well... I kind of assumed, seeing as you want to keep seeing me. That does pretty much make you my boyfriend – although currently my _secret boyfriend_." His eyes gleamed with amusement. "Anyway," he showed Arthur his watch. "You'd better go if you're going to stand any chance of making your nine o'clock lecture on time."

"Shit!" Arthur pulled himself together as he saw the time.

Merlin pulled Arthur towards him and kissed him lightly. "We can just keep meeting here for now, that's one advantage of having no flatmate, text me later."

"Okay," Arthur grinned and hurried out. He let himself out of Merlin's flat and ran.

XOXOXOX

Arthur found it difficult to concentrate on his lectures and labs. His mind kept straying to Merlin and he recalled snippets of their conversation from the morning. The words that still caused a spike of anxiety kept playing on a loop in his head: _gay, relationship, boyfriend_. As the day progressed however, he found that he reacted to them less and less negatively. In fact the last two eventually started to make him smile.

He texted Merlin in the afternoon to see if he was free later. He had debated playing it cool and putting a bit of space between them, but then thought, _fuck it_. He knew that Merlin would want to see him and he didn't see the point in denying either of them just for the sake of it.

They hung out at Merlin's flat again, eating pizza, watching TV and groping each other enthusiastically on the sofa. When Merlin asked whether he wanted to stay over, Arthur fished his toothbrush out of his jacket pocket and grinned. Merlin just raised his eyebrows and laughed at his presumptuousness.

The next morning, Arthur wasn't in such a rush. He didn't have to be anywhere before a tutorial at eleven. Merlin had a nine o'clock start so Arthur went home to shower and change. He was sitting in the kitchen eating his fourth piece of marmite on toast when Lance came in yawning.

"Hello stranger," he greeted Arthur. "So what the hell have you been up to? or rather who?"

"None of your business," Arthur replied. He was unable to stop the flush and grin from spreading across his face.

"Two nights in a row," Lance remarked, "must be serious!"

"I've got to go," Arthur stood to leave.

"Are you coming to the pub tonight?" Lance asked. "We're meeting in the Highbury Vaults at eight."

"Yeah, I'll be there." Arthur replied.

XOXOXOX

Arthur popped round to Merlin's before going out in the evening. He felt a bit bad that he couldn't invite Merlin out for beers with his friends. But at least after their conversation the day before, he knew that Merlin understood. Merlin claimed that he had loads of work to catch up on anyway, so a night without distractions suited him just fine.

"Have fun," he said as Arthur was getting ready to leave. "Come round and see me tomorrow, once your hangover has abated."

Arthur made it to the pub by half eight and found his friends already gathered in a noisy, boisterous group at one of the tables in the garden. They were all well stuck into the beer already and Arthur caught them up pretty quickly. Friday night was traditionally a night for them to overdo it a bit and unwind after a busy week. All the usual crowd were there – Gwaine, Lance, Gwen, Leon, Percival and Elyan; plus Percival's current girlfriend whose name Arthur couldn't remember.

Gwaine was making everyone play one of his stupid drinking games. There were all sorts of complicated rules that no one could ever entirely remember – you had to drink with your left hand and never your right and there were certain words you weren't allowed to say. If you made a mistake and got it wrong then you had to drink more. It usually ended badly.

"So are we going to see you for the rest of the weekend Arthur?" Lance asked teasingly. "Or are you going to be off with your mystery woman for the rest of the weekend? I'm surprised you're here tonight to be honest. We've hardly seen you all week!"

"What's this?" Gwaine cut in, ears pricking up. "You've got a new woman? Who's that then?"

Gwaine was a nosey bastard and could never resist a bit of gossip. Arthur took a long swig of his pint to cover his discomfort.

"It's nothing serious and I'm not telling, so shut up." He glared pointedly at Lance.

Lance raised his eyebrows in a _yeah right_ kind of a way. "He's smitten," he said to Gwaine. "Totally, I can tell. But he's being really cagey about it." He shrugged and turned back to Gwen.

"Why all the secrecy? Go on... pretty please. Tell me about your latest conquest so I can live vicariously. I haven't scored for weeks." Gwaine pouted.

"You fucking liar Gwaine," Leon butted in. "You pulled that bird just last Saturday. She was hot too..."

The conversation turned to the girl that Gwaine may or may not have ended up going home with last weekend and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief as the subject of his new 'woman' was dropped.

A couple of pints later Gwaine was harassing him again, but for a different reason this time. Honestly, he was an annoying bastard, sometimes Arthur wondered why he put up with him. But Gwaine was one of those people who you couldn't help liking even when he was being an insufferable pain in the arse. He was fun and his enthusiasm and zest for life infected everyone around him. Arthur just sometimes wished that he knew when to let things go.

"So..." Gwaine leaned over, his eyes glinting mischievously. "That wank video you made, is it online yet?"

Arthur glared at him. "Even if it was, what makes you think I'd have bothered to look for it? I can see myself wanking anytime I like. I don't need to watch a recording."

Gwaine laughed, but persisted. "C'mon man, you must have wanted to look, just out of interest. Anyway, I want to see it – just to check that you actually did it!"

"I bloody _did_ do it." Arthur said, exasperated. "You saw me go in! Seriously man, why the hell are you so interested in watching a video of me wanking? Don't be a perve!"

Gwaine finally gave up. Arthur clutched his pint, downed the rest of it and escaped to the bar to buy another round.

By the time last orders was called, Arthur was feeling pretty pissed. He was exhausted too, after two relatively late nights with Merlin. He and his housemates weaved their way home together, stopping for obligatory kebabs on the way – and falafels for Gwen who was veggie.

By the time Arthur collapsed into bed he was nearly ready to pass out, but Merlin popped into his head and he reached for his phone and typed carefully, squinting at the glowing screen.

 _I drank all the beret_

"Oh bollocks!" he cursed as the message sent, then typed again.

 _Beer, not beret. fucking autocorrect_

Determined not be beaten by technology, he attempted a third text: _I missyu but am crsp at texting when pussed x_

A minute or two later his phone rang, he fumbled to answer it and lay back on the pillows, beaming stupidly at his ceiling.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," Merlin's voice was amused. "A good night out then I take it?"

"mmph," Arthur replied eloquently. "I s'pose. Gwaine was being a twat, and Lance was teasing me about having a secret lover... but the beer was nice."

"I hope the secret lover is me?" Merlin replied.

"Course it's you, idiot." Arthur huffed. "I don't have time for another one."

Merlin chuckled.

"I miss you," Arthur grumbled. "How can I fucking miss you? I've only known you for two weeks. You're like some sort of witchy-type person or something... casting a spell on me. My bed feels all empty and that's just silly because you never even been _in_ my bed." He trailed off, realising even through his drunken state, that he was rambling a little.

"Arthur?" Merlin said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"I miss you too."

Arthur smiled. The warm twisty curl in his chest was back. He held the phone tight against his ear and thought that he could hear the soft whisper of Merlin's breathing. His eyelids drooped.

"Arthur?"

"Hmm?"

"I think you should hang up now, otherwise you're going to fall asleep on me," Merlin said.

"I like falling asleep on you..." Arthur mumbled.

Merlin chuckled again. "Goodnight Arthur, see you tomorrow."

XOXOXOX

Arthur woke mid-morning. His phone was under his cheek and he had drooled on it in his sleep. His head ached and his mouth still tasted of kebab. He pulled out his phone and looked at his recent texts. He snorted in embarrassed amusement when he saw his attempts of the night before. He remembered that Merlin had called him, but couldn't recall much of the conversation. He hoped that he hadn't made too much of a prat of himself.

By the time Arthur had showered, eaten breakfast and drunk several mugs of tea, he was feeling reasonable again. Gwen and Lance seemed to have already gone out and there was no sign of Leon but Arthur assumed he'd still be in bed. Arthur retreated to his room to phone Merlin, just to be on the safe side.

"Hi," he greeted Merlin.

"Morning," Merlin replied. "You okay?"

"Not too bad, sorry about the illegible drunken texting," Arthur grimaced. "I hope I didn't wake you up last night?"

"Nope, I was working late. You were funny anyway." Merlin laughed. "Are you coming over?"

"Yeah, if that's OK?"

"Of course, make it quick. I know how much you missed me, you told me in great detail last night."

"Fuck," Arthur groaned, "was I a total idiot?"

"Absolutely," Merlin's voice was teasing. "But I wouldn't have you any other way. See you soon." Arthur could hear him chuckling as he hung up.

XOXOXOX

Arthur spent the rest of the weekend at Merlin's flat. Once he got there, there seemed little point in going home. It was just so easy spending time with Merlin. In between lots of mutual wanking, both boys spent some time refining their blow job technique. They also just hung out, chatted, watched Monty Python DVDs and drank copious amounts of tea.

They got a take away on Sunday night and Merlin introduced Arthur to his collection of geeky board games. Arthur was sceptical at first, but became quite hooked on Carcassonne and got the hang of the strategy very quickly. In the last game he managed to steal one of Merlin's castles from him, right at the last minute, storming into the lead and winning the game. Merlin pouted as Arthur grinned triumphantly.

Arthur pulled him up and kissed him until he was grinning back and slightly breathless.

"Bed." Arthur said decisively.

"I love it when you're masterful," Merlin smirked.

They undressed each other hastily; keen to feel skin on skin. Arthur pulled Merlin down onto the bed and rolled on top of him, pinning him down and kissing him hungrily, parting his lips and pushing his tongue into Merlin's mouth. He worked his way down Merlin's neck and chest, licking and tasting. He teased Merlin's sensitive nipples until he arched and clutched at Arthur's hair, pushing up against him. Arthur hummed in satisfaction. He loved the feeling of Merlin squirming with excitement underneath him.

He moved lower, his cheek brushing the hot skin of Merlin's cock as he buried his nose in the crisp, dark curls and inhaled in the musky scent that was so concentrated there. No girl had never smelled as good as Merlin. Ignoring Merlin's straining erection he moved lower still, nuzzling his balls and licking at them, exploring the unfamiliar texture with his tongue. His hands were splayed on Merlin's pale thighs, holding them open. As he licked and gently sucked on Merlin's testicles, his thumbs crept slowly inwards until they touched the sensitive skin surrounding Merlin's hole. Merlin gasped and spread his legs wider, wordlessly asking for more. Arthur circled the puckered skin with the pad of one thumb and Merlin whimpered.

Unsure, Arthur lifted his head and met Merlin's slightly glazed eyes. "I've never done this before," he admitted, "not even to myself. Tell me what to do. I don't want to hurt you."

"You need lube," Merlin's voice was scratchy with want. "There's some in the drawer."

Arthur crawled over him to reach it and settled back between Merlin's parted legs. He slicked his fingers and carefully circled Merlin's hole with his forefinger. He looked up into Merlin's eyes and saw trust and naked desire. Furrowing his brow in concentration, he pushed harder and felt the tight ring of muscle give and allow the tip of his finger to slide inside. Merlin's cock twitched, hard and leaking against his belly and he groaned and pushed down on Arthur's finger. Arthur increased the pressure and allowed his finger to move deeper into the incredible, tight heat of Merlin's body.

"Move... please!" Merlin pushed against him again and Arthur started to move his finger slowly in and out, carefully watching Merlin's response.

"Add another!" Merlin gasped, clutching at the sheets.

Arthur obeyed, withdrawing his finger and gently adding a second, watching in fascination as Merlin tensed and sighed in pleasure. Arthur carried on moving them slowly and relentlessly in and out. As he grew more confident he tried changing the angle slightly, curling and twisting his fingers, watching Merlin all the time to see how he reacted. As he curled them upwards Merlin's eyes flew wide open.

"Oh fuck yes... more... like that!"

Arthur grinned and obliged, rubbing over the same spot inside Merlin with each push and curl of his fingers, until Merlin was moaning and begging for Arthur to touch his cock. Arthur circled his other hand around Merlin's shaft and stroked hard. Almost instantaneously, Merlin bucked and cried out _, oh fuck yes! Arthur... fuck!_ Arthur felt Merlin spasm around his fingers as his cock pulsed, shooting white and sticky on to Merlin's belly and chest.

Arthur withdrew his fingers and released Merlin's cock and crawled up to straddle him. Merlin was still panting and spaced out from orgasm and Arthur was now desperate to come. He reached down and stroked himself urgently. Merlin grabbed his hips and watched Arthur's cock and hand intently, biting his lip. They both moaned as Arthur came hard, his release spurting out and mingling with the sticky mess on Merlin's stomach.

"Fucking hell... that was unbelievably hot," Merlin looked awed. "I might be needing a shower in the morning though."

Arthur chuckled, and passed him tissues. "These will do for now."

"I can't believe you've never fingered yourself," Merlin mused as he wiped up the mess. "I mean, weren't you curious?"

"Honestly? It never really occurred to me," Arthur replied. "But _now_ I'm curious. You're quite a good advertisement for it."

Merlin laughed. "Yeah... I guess I am! I'm sure I can convert you."

"I'll look forward to it." Arthur grinned lasciviously and pulled the covers up, curling around Merlin and kissing the back of his neck.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next week Arthur spent as much time as he possibly could with Merlin. He had to be strict with himself in order to stay on top of his workload. It was fortunate that Merlin took his studies seriously too, so they managed to prioritise their work when they really had to.

Arthur was aware that he'd been neglecting his friends, but they hadn't given him too much of a hard time about it. When he saw them he still had to put up with questions about who he was seeing, but he flatly refused to discuss it. Eventually, even Gwaine gave up and stopped asking him.

When they were together, Arthur and Merlin couldn't keep their hands off each other. Merlin seemed to crave physical contact and Arthur found that he enjoyed their casual, affectionate touches as well as those of a more sexual nature. They spent their time at Merlin's flat exploring each other's bodies and finding out more about what they both enjoyed. The first time Merlin attempted to finger Arthur, Arthur was horribly nervous but he managed to trust Merlin and was rewarded when he discovered the intense pleasure that being touched so intimately could bring.

Neither of them felt quite ready to actually have sex 'properly' yet, but they discussed it in general terms. It turned out that both of them were keen to experience it both ways when they eventually got round to it.

On Wednesday afternoon they were lying on the sofa together in a sprawl of tangled limbs, when Merlin said casually.

"By the way... I told Freya about you." Arthur sat up and looked at him, alarmed. "Don't worry, I didn't tell her your name or who you are, just that I'm seeing a bloke."

"Oh... okay," Arthur replied, not really sure whether it _was_ okay.

"She's my friend and she thought I was avoiding her. I had to tell her I was seeing someone... so I did." Merlin shrugged. "I'll probably tell my mum too next time I speak to her. We're pretty close so I don't really want to keep it from her."

Arthur didn't know what to say.

"Don't freak out. This is just how I am with people." Merlin said. "You can tell people in your own time. I mean... I assume we can't keep this a secret forever?"

Arthur remained silent. Keeping it secret forever still sounded pretty appealing to him.

"I suppose not," he muttered, frowning.

"It would be nice to be able to go out occasionally," Merlin smiled. "Much as I like hanging out with you here, I can feel a case of cabin fever coming on. Maybe we could go out somewhere this weekend? It's a big city. I'm sure we can manage to avoid your friends. Think about it, yeah?"

"Okay," Arthur agreed, pushing down feelings of unease.

XOXOXOX

With a bit of persuasion of a sexual nature from Merlin, Arthur eventually agreed to go out on Saturday night. There was a gig that Merlin wanted to go to in some cellar bar on the edge of St Paul's. Arthur felt a bit out of place, he didn't usually go out on that side of the city. The bar was dark, noisy and crowded but the music was good and Merlin's enthusiasm was infectious.

They squeezed their way through to the front, pushed together by the crowd and moved in time to the music with the crowd pressing close around them. Merlin ended up standing slightly in front of Arthur and he reached back and twined their fingers together. Arthur felt a thrill of panic at the intimate touch in a public place, but he didn't pull his hand away. Merlin grinned over his shoulder and Arthur smiled back.

As the crowd grew thicker, Arthur closed the gap between their bodies and it felt natural for his hands to find their way to Merlin's hips. He slid his hand under Merlin's t-shirt and grazed the soft skin of his flanks with his fingertips. Merlin squirmed and pushed back against him. Arthur felt his cock fill at the contact. He longed to pull Merlin round and kiss him, but wasn't quite brave enough.

When the gig finished they left the bar and started walking along the dark street. Merlin took Arthur's hand again and Arthur let him. He was still half hard from their proximity in the bar. The street was mostly deserted and Arthur couldn't wait any longer. As they passed a shop doorway that was set back from the street, Arthur pulled Merlin into the shadows and pressed him up against the door kissing him hungrily. Merlin's lips parted willingly and his hands crept around Arthur's neck, pulling him closer as their tongues tangled.

They were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps and conversation. A girl's voice called out "get a room!" Loud giggling erupted as she and her companions passed them.

Arthur pulled back panting and chuckled, resting his forehead against Merlin's. Merlin laughed breathlessly and Arthur was filled with a wild elation at being out with Merlin, holding his hand and kissing him in public.

They carried on walking vaguely in the direction of Merlin's flat and decided to stop for another drink. They ended up in one of the big, busy pubs near the Arches. It was crowded and there was nowhere to sit. They bought their drinks and found some standing room in a corner. Arthur kept a physical distance between them. It was well lit and he felt less relaxed than he had done at the gig. Merlin seemed to sense his anxiety and avoided touching him, Arthur was grateful but at the same time found he missed the contact. It felt odd being with Merlin without that easy intimacy they shared when they were in private.

"Arthur!" a hand slapped down on his shoulder in greeting and Arthur nearly dropped his pint as he turned to face Gwaine, flanked by Leon and Percival. "What are you doing out tonight? I thought you'd be off somewhere romantic with your mystery woman!"

Arthur didn't dare look at Merlin, although he could feel his eyes on him. He rallied and tried to sound casual.

"Yeah, not tonight, I'm just out for a few beers."

"So I see," Gwaine glanced at Merlin with interest and his eyes narrowed. He stared at Arthur and then looked back at Merlin again intently. "Hi, I'm Gwaine." He nodded, "we've not met have we?"

"This is Merlin," Arthur said. "He was in my Biochem class last year."

"Hi, Merlin, good to meet you," Gwaine looked at Merlin speculatively. Merlin met his gaze calmly; then broke the tension by waving his mercifully empty glass at Arthur.

"I'm going to the bar, anyone else want anything?"

"Yeah, another pint would be good, thanks," Arthur nodded. "I'm just going for a slash."

His legs felt shaky as he wove his way through the crowds and found the toilets. He went immediately into one of the cubicles and locked it behind him, leaning heavily on the door and clenching his fists. Fucking hell! He couldn't handle this – being in the pub with his mates, with Merlin there. But if he left with Merlin now, that would look really weird. He was just going to have to brave it and try and act as if Merlin _was_ just a mate from Biochem. A mate that he had never mentioned to anyone before and that no one else had ever met. _Fuck!_

He took a deep breath, opened the cubicle door and headed for the sinks. He leaned on the sink, staring at his reflection, resisting the urge to head-butt the mirror. When had his life got so fucking complicated?

The door to the toilets crashed open behind him and he met Gwaine's eyes in the mirror and suddenly had a feeling that things were about to get worse.

"Arthur," Gwaine's voice was surprisingly calm. "I know who he is."

Arthur felt another shock of adrenaline rush through his system, leaving him nauseous. He opened his mouth to reply. "I don't know what..." but Gwaine cut in again.

"Just don't... there's no point in denying it. I recognise him, he's pretty distinctive looking. I found the video online last weekend, Arthur. I _know_ – I know what you did with him." Arthur forced himself to meet Gwaine's eyes, fearful of seeing disgust, but Gwaine's face was unreadable. "So... is he the one then? Is it him you've been spending all your time with this week?"

"No!" the denial left Arthur's lips before he had time to think about it. "We're just friends now, that's all - I'm not... it's nothing."

"Arthur, you do realise that I wouldn't care if you were? – seeing him I mean?" Gwaine's voice was soft. "It wouldn't matter to me, or to any of us."

"Just... fuck off!" Arthur pushed past him, desperate to escape. "I can't deal with this now."

"Arthur, wait!" Gwaine called after him, but Arthur ignored him.

He slammed the door open and shoved his way roughly through the crowds. He passed Merlin at the bar, still waiting to be served. Merlin looked at him questioningly but Arthur avoided his eyes and hurried towards the door. When he got outside he started running.

His feet pounded on the pavement and his chest burned, he didn't think about where he was going, he just needed to get away. He turned a corner and headed up a side street where the streetlights were spaced far apart and slowed his pace a little. Then he heard the sound of feet behind him and a yell.

"Arthur, stop, for fuck's sake!"

It was Gwaine. He was a persistent bugger and Arthur knew from football training that Gwaine could and would outrun him. He stopped and sank down to the pavement, leaning against the stone wall. He put his head in his hands and waited, breathing heavily.

"You're a twat – do you know that?" Gwaine sounded angry. "What the fuck are you thinking, running away like this?"

"I wasn't thinking," Arthur said petulantly. "Give me a break. Am I not allowed to be a little freaked out here?"

"What about Merlin?" Gwaine challenged him.

Arthur was taken aback. That wasn't what he'd been expecting to hear. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that was a fucking shitty thing to do to him, running out on him like that!" Arthur felt ashamed. He hadn't been thinking about Merlin's feelings at all, he'd been too busy panicking. "He looked totally gutted." Gwaine continued, twisting the knife deeper. "I get that you're having some sort of gay crisis. I get that and I'm sorry I said anything to you back there, I should have chosen a better time. But if I'm right – that he's the one you've been seeing and you actually care about him – then you need to man the _fuck_ up right now and go after him and apologise!"

"Shit," Arthur threw his head back and tore at his hair in frustration. "You're right. Fucking hell!"

"Well go and sort it out then." Gwaine's voice was matter of fact now. "You really _do_ like him don't you?"

Arthur took a deep breath and looked up at Gwaine. "Yeah," Arthur admitted. Saying it out loud made his chest feel tight and he realised how true it was. "I really do. I've never felt like this about anyone before."

"I'm happy for you man," Gwaine put out a hand and pulled Arthur up to standing. He punched him gently on the shoulder. "Seriously – so get out of here and fix this."

"Thanks mate," Arthur met his eyes in the dim light and Gwaine's teeth flashed in a brilliant grin.

Arthur turned and started to walk back down to the main road. He heard Gwaine shout after him.

"If you two end up together, my best man's speech is going to be so epic!"

"Don't even _think_ about it!" Arthur yelled back, laughing as he turned the corner.

When he got back to the pub Merlin had gone. Leon and Percival were nowhere to be seen either, which was fortunate. Arthur was relieved not to be hampered by the need to explain his behaviour to anyone else when he was in a hurry to go after Merlin.

Back in the street outside Arthur got out his phone and called Merlin, but it went to voice mail.

"Merlin, it's me," he said. "I'm really sorry for being such a twat. Gwaine worked it out and I freaked out but I shouldn't have left. Please call me when you get this."

He hung up and then followed his message with a text for good measure:

 _Really sorry, I was an utter dickhead. I'm coming round to your flat now xx_

XOXOXOX

When Arthur got to Merlin's flat there was no sign of life. He rang the bell but there was no reply.

"Fuck," he cursed, not sure what to do next. Going home seemed defeatist so he decided to wait. He hoped that Merlin was still out, rather than inside ignoring him, and assumed that Merlin would end up back there eventually. He huddled on the top doorstep, pulled his jacket tight around him and waited.

Finally after about half an hour he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw Merlin's thin silhouette approaching. Merlin paused at the foot of the steps, the light from the streetlamp a few doors down casting a long and spindly shadow on the pavement. His eyes were shadowed and Arthur couldn't read his expression. His hands were hunched in his pockets and he looked cold.

"I'm sorry," said Arthur. "Did you get my messages?"

"I switched my phone off."

"Oh. Well they both say that I'm sorry for being a twat."

"You _were_ a twat." Merlin obviously wasn't letting him off the hook too easily. "What the hell were you thinking? Buggering off and leaving me with your mates, that couldn't have been more awkward."

"I know," Arthur sighed heavily. "I panicked. Gwaine knows about us, he worked it all out. He challenged me in the toilets and I freaked out."

"Yeah, I noticed." Merlin's voice was cold and hurt.

"Can we go inside and talk?" Arthur asked. "Please?"

Merlin paused for a moment but then shrugged, "I suppose."

Arthur stood and moved aside so that Merlin could unlock the door. He longed to touch him, but sensed that he shouldn't yet. He followed Merlin up the stairs, anxiety pooling in his gut. He loathed that awful guilty feeling, of having behaved badly and waiting for forgiveness. He felt helpless and scared, not knowing what to say to fix things.

They sat far apart on the sofa. Merlin was hunched at one end, his knees up defensively. He fiddled with the sleeve of his sweatshirt, twisting a loose thread tightly around his fingers.

"I'm sorry," Arthur said again. "You must have felt horrible when I buggered off. It was a crap thing to do to you. I was too busy panicking about being outed by Gwaine and I couldn't think straight." He paused and took a deep breath. "But he knows now, and he knows that it wasn't just that one time. He knows you're the one I've been spending all my time with... and that I really like you."

Merlin's eyes flicked up to Arthur's for a moment. Taking heart from the fact that he was listening Arthur ploughed on.

"And you know what? I'm glad he knows. Saying it out loud to someone else made me realise how much _this_ matters to me – how much _you_ matter to me."

Merlin looked at him again and his lips curved in a tentative smile. "So... Gwaine knows. What about the others?"

"I'm going to tell them. Leon and Percival probably worked it out anyway, and Gwaine isn't known for his discretion anyway... but I want to tell them."

"So I don't have to be your dirty secret anymore?" Merlin teased but he was smiling properly now.

"Nope," Arthur grinned, moving to push Merlin's knees apart and crawl between them. "You can be my non-secret boyfriend now, if that's okay with you?"

"I think I can live with that," Merlin murmured as he hands slid across Arthur's back. "But what about you father? Will he disown you?"

Arthur winced, imagining his father's reaction. "It won't be pretty. But really – it's the twenty-first century. What can he actually do? He'll hate the fact that I'm in love with another man, but he'll just have to put up with it."

Merlin inhaled sharply, a little surprised sound escaping and Arthur suddenly realised what he had just said. He felt heat rush through him and he bit his lip anxiously, the word was out there, inescapable. But as he watched the slow smile illuminate Merlin's face, Arthur had no desire to take it back. It was like watching the sun break through the clouds and Arthur's chest twisted with wild happiness as he saw his feelings reflected back.

Merlin tugged on the back of Arthur's neck and pulled him down, kissing him deeply and holding him tight. As Arthur moved to kiss his jaw and his neck and started to slide his hands under Merlin's clothes, Merlin pushed on his shoulders.

"Not here, let's go to bed."

They stumbled their way to Merlin's room, undressing each other on the way, leaving a trail of clothes behind them. When they finally ended up lying on the bed, naked and entwined, Merlin shivered under Arthur's hands and whispered.

"I want to feel you inside me."

Arthur rolled them onto their sides and pressed his face into Merlin's neck, breathing him in. "Are you sure?"

He felt wound tight, desperate and wanting and scared all at once. He felt Merlin's head move as he nodded and Arthur sighed into the skin of Merlin's neck and dipped his head to lick along his collar bone. Merlin wriggled away and reached in the drawer for lube and a condom, pressing them into Arthur's hand.

Merlin lay back, looking up at Arthur expectantly. Arthur felt blown away by the strength of his feelings for the man beneath him. He met Merlin's eyes as he slicked his fingers. As he pressed a finger into Merlin's body he leaned down to kiss him again, distracting Merlin from the stretch and burn with slow strokes of his tongue in Merlin's mouth. He pulled back and concentrated on his fingers again, carefully adding a second. As he slowly but insistently fucked Merlin open, he licked at Merlin's nipples until they were hard and Merlin was whining and gasping and pushing down greedily on Arthur's hand. Arthur moved his fingers, stretching and scissoring and curling, needing to be sure that Merlin was ready. He was afraid of hurting him but he wanted this so badly, he wanted it to be good for both of them.

Merlin sat back on his elbows and watched as Arthur withdrew his fingers and rolled the condom on. His eyes were dark in the muted light of the room. As Arthur crawled over him again, Merlin hooked his arms under his knees and spread himself wide. The trust and desire in Merlin's eyes made Arthur ache.

He pushed slowly and carefully into Merlin, watching him for any sign that it was too much. Once or twice Merlin flinched, and each time Arthur stopped, waiting until Merlin nodded and encouraged him deeper. The tight heat surrounding Arthur's cock was overwhelming, Arthur was glad he had to move slowly. He knew that if he thrust in earnest he would come in a matter of seconds.

Once he was fully inside, Arthur took Merlin's prick in his hand and stroked it back to full hardness. As Merlin's breathing picked up, his eyes glazed with desire he started to rock his hips, encouraging Arthur to move inside him.

"Is this... are you okay?" Arthur gasped as his toes curled and he fought for control.

Merlin nodded and pulled Arthur closer, panting into his mouth as their lips crushed together, teeth clashing. Needing Merlin to come, knowing that he couldn't hold out much longer, Arthur moved his hand faster on Merlin's cock. It was messy and un-coordinated and chaotic. Arthur was too far gone to be able to manage his movements with any finesse, but as he pushed deep into Merlin and ran his thumb over the blunt head of Merlin's prick he felt Merlin tense beneath him. His fingers dug hard into Arthur's shoulders and he let out a strangled cry as he pulsed hot and wet between them and his body contracted around Arthur's cock.

Groaning with relief and pleasure Arthur pushed himself up on both arms and looked at Merlin, spread out flushed and sticky beneath him. Their eyes met and Arthur felt an intense wave of joy and possessiveness flood through him. He moved faster now, letting go and giving into the urgent heat that was building inexorably inside him. Merlin's name fell from his lips as his orgasm finally ripped through him and subsided in slow tingling waves of pleasure, leaving him limp and spent.

He collapsed panting on Merlin's chest and licked the salty skin with his tongue, as Merlin's fingers traced gentle patterns on his shoulders. Eventually Arthur pulled out and dealt with the condom. Merlin didn't appear to be inclined to move, so Arthur passed him a discarded t-shirt to wipe the cooling mess off his abdomen.

Arthur lay back down next to Merlin and took his hand, lacing their fingers together on Merlin's bony chest. He realised that Merlin was nearly asleep and he pressed a kiss against Merlin's cheekbone.

"So will you come over and meet my housemates tomorrow? " Arthur murmured, "I think it's about time I introduced you to them."

He felt Merlin nod sleepily and squeeze his fingers. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Arthur wrapped himself around his no-longer-secret boyfriend and fell asleep with a contented smile curling his lips.


	6. Epilogue

Arthur woke early, his stomach fluttering unpleasantly with anxiety as he shifted onto his back. Beside him Merlin murmured in his sleep and curled in on himself, burrowing deeper under the duvet. It was safe to say that Merlin was not a morning person. After being with him for eighteen months and spending most of their nights together, Arthur was used to having to kick his arse out of bed in the morning.

Arthur lay and stared at the ceiling, just visible in the dim light that filtered through the curtains. Today was a Big Day. It merited mental capital letters, Arthur decided. His father was coming to the city for Arthur's graduation and was finally going to meet Merlin for the first time. Arthur forced himself to breathe slowly, trying to calm the nerves that were already threatening to overwhelm him.

Coming out had generally been easier than Arthur would ever have expected. His friends had been totally supportive and had accepted Merlin straight away. Only Gwaine knew the details of how the two of them had met and he had kept these to himself, displaying discretion that was quite out of character. Arthur was eternally grateful to him for this.

Merlin's friends had been equally accepting and his mother had never had a problem with Merlin's relationship with Arthur. Merlin had introduced them early on and they visited Hunith fairly regularly as she lived in South Wales, not far from Bristol. She was coming to see them next week for Merlin's graduation and Arthur was looking forward to seeing her again. He always enjoyed the time they spent together. Hunith was warm and kind and treated Arthur almost like a son.

It had taken Arthur several months to pluck up the courage to be honest with his own family. He had told his sister Morgana first. He didn't know whether to be relieved or perturbed when she barely displayed a flicker of surprise. Having been so sure that he was heterosexual before he met Merlin, Arthur had expected his sister to be at least a bit shocked by his sudden revelation. But she told him that she had suspected as much ever since he was in the sixth form at school. Apparently her gaydar was spot on.

It was Morgana who had finally persuaded Arthur to bite the bullet and tell his father that he was in a relationship with another man. After she had met Merlin and seen them together, she pointed out that they were obviously serious about each other, so Uther would have to find out eventually. Leaving it longer wouldn't make it any easier, so it was best to get it over with, she advised – like ripping off a plaster. Arthur couldn't argue with her flawless logic.

He had gone home to visit his father for the weekend, deciding that Uther would appreciate the courage that it took Arthur to tell him his news face to face. He knew that his father cared about him, but he feared his disapproval and he had never been confident that Uther's love was unconditional.

When Arthur had finally found the words, he had looked his father in the eye and hidden his anxiety well. Arthur held his head high and explained without apology. He refused to be ashamed of who he was. Uther had listened and accepted as far as it was possible for him to do so. Arthur could tell how hard it was for him to hear, but appreciated the fact that Uther didn't openly express any disappointment. Arthur didn't suggest that he introduce Merlin to his father, and Uther didn't ask to meet him.

For a year after that confrontation, Arthur had hardly seen his father and their contact was usually limited to brief emails. They had never been close, so Arthur didn't feel that anything had really changed between them. He did notice, however, that his father never asked after Merlin. Uther seemed quite happy pretending that he didn't exist. Well, he wasn't going to be able to do that today. This evening they were going to sit in a restaurant together and Arthur's old-fashioned, bordering-on-homophobic father was finally going to be introduced to Arthur's boyfriend.

"Fuck," Arthur muttered. "Oh fucking _fuck!_ " he let out a puff of air through his nose and rolled over to spoon against Merlin, needing to feel his reassuring warmth.

Merlin sighed and relaxed back against him, turning his head and cranking his eyes open. "G'morning," he croaked. "You okay?"

"Honestly?" Arthur grimaced. "Not so much. I feel sick."

Merlin rolled over and curled his hand round the back of Arthur's neck, pressing their foreheads together. "We talked about this. What's the worst thing that can _actually_ happen?"

"I know, I know..." Arthur huffed. "I just can't help freaking out, I'm sorry."

"Would it help if I distracted you?" Merlin's breath was warm on his lips and Arthur felt heat flood his groin despite his anxiety. Merlin was _excellent_ at taking Arthur's mind off things.

"I suppose it's worth a try..." Arthur closed the gap between their lips and smiled against Merlin's mouth as their lips parted.

"Okay, roll over." Merlin pulled back and grinned. Arthur shifted to his front, adjusting his cock carefully. He was already half hard in anticipation. He felt Merlin straddle his thighs and sighed in pleasure as warm hands slid up his bare back and across his shoulders, kneading the tension out of his muscles. Merlin worked over Arthur's back with firm strokes and small circling movements of his thumbs. He was amazing at this. Soon Arthur was moaning and pressing his erection into the mattress.

"God, Merlin... that feels good," he murmured.

Merlin adjusted his position as he moved lower, running his fingertips just above the line of Arthur's pants, teasing the sensitive skin there. Arthur felt Merlin wiggle slightly and grinned to himself as he felt the hardness of Merlin's prick against the back of his thighs. Giving Arthur a massage never failed to turn Merlin on too.

Merlin moved off Arthur's legs for a moment and pulled Arthur's pants off. Arthur kept his eyes closed, but recognised the rustle of fabric that indicated that Merlin's were also being cast aside. The bed dipped as Merlin crawled back over him. Arthur felt Merlin's prick slide against the crack of his arse as Merlin leaned forward and pressed a line of biting kisses across his shoulders.

Merlin moved lower, his cock dragging tantalisingly down Arthur's inner thigh, leaving a trail of wetness to match the one his tongue was painting on Arthur's back. When Arthur felt Merlin's hot breath on the swell of his arse he groaned and Merlin responded by pushing Arthur's legs apart and kneeling between them, lifting Arthur's hips off the bed.

Arthur folded his arms for support and pushed his arse up shamelessly. His cock was straining now, untouched and leaking.

"God, Arthur, you look so good like this..." Merlin's voice was breathy and filled with want.

"Get on with it!" Arthur grumbled, "fucking tease..."

His complaints turned into a gasp, as Merlin licked lightly from Arthur's balls to the top of his crack in one swift stroke. Merlin repeated the movement again and again, barely grazing Arthur's sensitive hole each time, until Arthur was moaning incoherently and begging for more.

Arthur was a total slut for a tongue in his arse and Merlin knew just how to torment him until he was wrecked and desperate and rocking his hips back helplessly with each delicate pass of Merlin's tongue. Finally Merlin took pity on him and concentrated his efforts, circling Arthur's tight hole and pressing the tip of his tongue inside. Arthur keened, breathless and panting, his body slick with sweat.

"Please!... I'm so close... need more..." he gasped.

"How do you want to come Arthur?" Merlin murmured, his breath hot on Arthur's arse, "with my tongue in you? Or do you want my cock?"

"Uh... _fuck_!" Arthur clenched his fists. The words themselves and the sound of Merlin's voice, rough with need, made his balls clench. "Your cock... I want your cock."

Merlin pulled away from him and Arthur hung his head, his breath ragged. He heard Merlin rootling around for lube. They no longer used condoms.

"Turn over," Merlin urged him. "I want to see you."

Arthur obliged, moving onto his back and pulling his knees up and apart. Merlin leaned over and kissed him hungrily as he slid two slick fingers into Arthur's already loosened hole. He swiftly added a third finger and Arthur moaned into Merlin's mouth.

"I'm ready... _now,_ Merlin _, please!_ " Arthur's voice was tight and wanting. He felt strung out, stretched... at breaking point. His world had narrowed to exclude everything except the man above him, the fingers inside him and the overwhelming, intense need to come. He could see that Merlin was close too, his cheeks were flushed with colour and his hand trembled as he reached for his cock and lined it up at Arthur's entrance.

Their eyes met as Merlin pushed into him and Arthur let out a low moan of delight at the feeling of being filled, finally. He was so close to coming already – he bit his lip and fought for control. Merlin withdrew almost completely, then slammed back in hard with a grunt. He reached for Arthur's hands and linked their fingers together, pressing their joined hands back into the pillows above Arthur's head.

Merlin leaned close, so that Arthur's aching cock was trapped between their bellies as he thrust repeatedly into Arthur, setting a fast rhythm. Arthur was on the brink again but was past speaking, he could only groan and squeeze Merlin's fingers. Merlin released one hand and curled his fingers around Arthur's cock. He slid his hand up and ran his thumb over the head and Arthur cried out and came hard, tensing and clenching around Merlin as his orgasm momentarily blinded him with its intensity. Merlin thrust into him a few more times and arched upwards, throwing his head back and coming with a gasp of – _oh, fuck... Arthur, fuck!_

Merlin collapsed onto Arthur's chest and lay in the sticky, cooling mess of Arthur's spunk. Arthur wrapped his arms around him and stroked the soft skin of Merlin's back as their breathing slowed and steadied.

"Better now?" Merlin murmured, tickling the hair on Arthur's chest with his soft breath.

"Mmmm... much better," Arthur hummed appreciatively. "It _will_ be fine today – and even if it's awkward, it doesn't matter. He can't spoil things for us, because _this_... what we have, is nothing to do with him." He tightened his arms around Merlin and whispered. "I love you, Merlin Emrys."

Merlin tipped his head back and pushed himself up, wriggling upwards to claim Arthur's lips in a deep kiss. When he pulled away he gave Arthur a blinding smile that made Arthur's chest flutter and his voice was clear and strong when he replied. "I love you too."

XOXOXOX

Arthur and his father went to the Royal Fort Gardens for drinks after the graduation ceremony, with the other graduates from Arthur's course and their families. After that Arthur took his father on a tour of the city to show him some of the sights of Bristol.

They travelled around by taxi or walked some of the shorter distances and stuck to safe topics of conversation throughout the afternoon. Arthur told his father more about the pharmaceutical company that he was due to start work for in the autumn. Arthur had graduated with a first and had had several good job offers but had chosen one which would allow him to stay in Bristol. He was happy there and that was where Merlin was going to be for the next three years. Merlin had managed to get funding for a PhD and would be staying in the city. Arthur didn't mention that particular part of his decision-making process to Uther.

They ended their tour in the early evening at Clifton Suspension Bridge which was only a short walk from the restaurant that Uther had picked. As they leaned over the railings and took in the spectacular view of the gorge, Arthur finally found the courage he'd been looking for all afternoon.

"So... Merlin and I are moving in together next month," he kept his voice light but couldn't prevent his fingers from gripping the railings more tightly as he waited for a response from his father.

"I see," Uther replied calmly. The tone of his voice gave nothing away. "He's staying in Bristol too then?"

"Yes," Arthur swallowed uncomfortably.

"This bridge really is a feat of engineering isn't it?" Uther turned to gaze along the structure they were standing on. "That Brunel chap was quite something."

Arthur didn't know whether to be infuriated or relieved. He decided to go with the latter. He looked at his watch.

"We'd better go. Our table is booked for seven thirty."

XOXOXOX

The restaurant was predictably expensive and ostentatious. Uther had insisted on choosing and Arthur wondered if he had deliberately picked somewhere that might make Merlin feel uncomfortable. Uther didn't know a lot about Merlin and his family, but he knew that his background was very different to the Pendragons'.

Arthur and his father arrived first. Uther ordered a bottle of suitably expensive wine and made a performance out of tasting it and examining the label carefully. Once he deemed it acceptable and allowed the waiter to fill their glasses, Arthur took a large swallow, resisting the urge to check his watch obsessively.

Merlin wasn't the most reliable person in the world when it came to time keeping but he didn't disappoint Arthur tonight. He arrived barely five minutes after Arthur and Uther. Arthur's heart thudded erratically in his chest as he saw Merlin approaching the glass door of the restaurant.

He looked impeccable and Arthur's chest swelled with pride. Merlin rarely dressed in anything that could be classed as smart. But he had gone shopping just for this occasion and looked delectable in the trousers, jacket and tie that he had bought. He caught Arthur's eye as he entered and his lips curved into a smile of greeting, his blue eyes glowing with unspoken support and understanding.

As Merlin approached the table, Arthur cleared his throat and rose to his feet to greet him. He longed to touch him, but didn't feel that he could. He just smiled and nodded as Merlin pulled out his chair.

"Father, this is Merlin Emrys," Arthur's voice wobbled almost imperceptibly. "Merlin, my father, Uther Pendragon."

Uther stood to shake Merlin's hand in a firm grip. "Merlin, it's good to meet you at last." He nodded formally and looked at Merlin appraisingly.

"Indeed, and you, Sir." Merlin replied as he slid into his seat.

They exchanged pleasantries, talking about inconsequential things such as the weather and the bits of Bristol that Uther had seen today. Merlin was offered wine and accepted and Arthur began to relax just slightly. This wasn't so bad, he could do this.

The conversation flowed quite easily. Uther grilled Merlin a bit about his plans for the future and was a little dismissive of academia as a career, but Merlin took it in his stride and didn't seem to be offended.

They didn't bother with ordering starters, going straight to the main course and by the time the food arrived Arthur finally dared look at Merlin properly, while his father was concentrating on his steak. Merlin looked beautiful. His striking features were accentuated by the subtle light of the restaurant and the reddish glow from the burgundy wallpaper lent a subtle flush to Merlin's pale cheeks and made his full lips look even pinker than usual. Arthur felt a rush of mingled love and arousal and moved his knee just slightly, so that it was pressing against Merlin's under the table. Merlin caught his eyes for a moment. His lips curled in a tiny smile and he looked at Arthur with such affection that Arthur had to fight the urge to reach for his hand and twine their fingers together.

The sound of Uther clearing his throat startled Arthur and he felt his cheeks heat uncomfortably, realising that his father had seen their intimate, unspoken exchange.

The rest of the meal passed without incident. As their pudding plates were cleared, Uther ordered coffee and brandy, without asking either of them whether they actually wanted it. Merlin caught Arthur's eye and Arthur could see that he wanted to giggle. Arthur gritted his teeth to stop himself from smiling.

Once the waiter had gone, Merlin excused himself and went in search of the toilets. An uncomfortable silence stretched out for a moment and then Arthur and Uther started to speak at once.

"So..." began Arthur.

"Well, he seems..." Uther started.

They broke off and chuckled, the tension dissipating a little.

"Go on," Arthur said.

"He seems... pleasant enough, quite conventional really." Uther sounded surprised. Arthur wondered what he had been expecting – someone wearing a tight rainbow patterned t-shirt and guyliner perhaps? He let it pass.

"I don't need your approval," Arthur said stiffly, knowing that on some level he still _wanted_ it, even if he didn't _need_ it.

"I know you don't," Uther fixed him with his clear grey gaze. "You're a grown man now, Arthur, and are eminently capable of making your own decisions. You obviously care about Merlin and if this is what you want then I'm not going to challenge you." He paused thoughtfully for a moment then continued. "I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't prefer to see you take the conventional route of settling down with a girl, but I understand that this isn't something you necessarily have control over."

Arthur smiled weakly, "no," he agreed with a shrug.

Uther put his hand on Arthur's shoulder, a rare and brief gesture of affection. "Arthur, you're my son and I love you and I want you to be happy."

Arthur felt a hot embarrassing prickle behind his eyelids. "Thank you, Father," he met Uther's gaze and saw that his usually stern face was crinkled with a smile. Uther's hand dropped away as Merlin returned to the table.

"So, boys..." Uther sat back in his chair, regarding them both genially. "How exactly did you two meet anyway? You've never told me."

Arthur nearly choked on his own tongue and scrambled desperately for an appropriate response, but Merlin came to his rescue.

"Oh, well... we were in the same Biochem class in our first year," he answered smoothly, nudging Arthur's shin under the table with his foot. "We just got talking one day and one thing led to another..."

 **The End**


End file.
